The Baby Project

Chapter Three



'When your secret heart,
cannot speak so easily.
Come here Darlin',
from a whispered star.
And Have a little faith in me'



Hermione bowed her head.
She couldn't look at anyone in the room.


'Just let the floor swallow me up...' She kept thinking to herself.


She knew that her face had turned a magnificent colour of crimson.
She knew that everyone was staring at her.
She knew that HE was glaring at her back.


"Excuse me, Professor" She heard him say from behind her. She could tell by
the tone in his voice that he too was quite bewildered by the new turn of
events. "Do mine ears deceive me...or did you just tell me that my
sprog is in Granger's oven?"


Hermione quickly turned around and glared at him.


He glared back.


A glaring contest was soon on the agenda.


"Your partners are paired to you academically" McGonagall stated casually.
"The DNA does not necessarily matter too much...as you know, your mother's
and fathers were probably not matched genetically when you yourselves were
born-


"My mother and father were matched down to the day of conception" Malfoy
scoffed. "And there is no way that THAT filthy little Mudblood is going
to carry my kid...the travesty of it all!"


McGonagall looked sternly at him.
It was quite obvious that his parents had told him a complete pack of lies.

"That will be twenty points from Slytherin and detention for a week" She
stated. "What happened to keeping to 'house unity' this year?" She looked
around at them all. "This project cannot be reversed, so I suggest that if
you have any problems with your other halves, then you sort it out amongst
yourselves"


Malfoy sneered.
Collecting his books and robe, he got up from his seat and walked towards
the door of the classroom.


Everyone stared at him.
He knew the consequences for leaving a class without being told to.


"Where are you going?" The teacher asked him, looking very irritated.


"Anywhere but here"


And to everyone's surprise, McGonagall let him go.


She expected as much.
She knew the decision to pair Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy would not be
accepted without a fight.


But what could she do when their academic skills were so closely matched?


Clearing her thoughts, McGonagall turned back to her class.
"Girls, you will start to feel small changes to your bodies tomorrow." At
the slightly worried faces looking at her, she continued. "Nothing too
strenuous...soreness of the breasts...the need to take toilet breaks more
often...maybe a little vomiting in the mornings..."


A few of the girls faces turned a little pale.


"Come back here tomorrow first thing. We will have a theory class on what
you should expect during the next two months of your implanted
pregnancy...after that, this 'Life lessons' class will be moved to a weekly
schedule."


The bell rang and all of the students in the room got up and made their way
to their next class.


Well...almost all of them.


Hermione sat there, looking utterly perplexed.
THIS was not supposed to happen.


"I am not doing this to punish you, Miss. Granger" McGonagall told the girl
as she made her way towards her, standing directly in front of her desk.


Hermione nodded her head.


She knew she was academically matched to Malfoy...she should have known
better than to think that her and Ron would even be sitting near
each other...never mind sharing the duties of parent-hood together...

"I just don't understand why it had to be him..." She said angrily.


The teacher nodded in understanding.


"It's called 'Irony', Miss Granger" McGonagall told her honestly.


McGonagall had no real say in the pair up of each of her students.
She went by rules that were dictated to her by Professor
Dumbledore...apparently if each student were matched up to someone who was
the equivalent of them, then both students had a better success of passing
their exam at the end of the year.


She knew that the two pupils in question did not get on.
But this was what the exercise was all about.


She almost felt guilty.
There were obviously some problems that this pair had to overcome...but if
they stood any chance of passing their examination at the end of the year,
then they had to work together.


Hermione slowly got off her seat and packed her things away.



_____________________


Malfoy stomped around the Potions room.


Livid wasn't a word for how he was feeling.


How DARE McGonagall even think that he could be paired with GRANGER of all
people!!!
She wasn't even a person, she was just a walking, talking irritation that he
had to put up with from day to day.


Snape had no sympathy.
"It if it academically matched, then there is no way around it, Mr. Malfoy"


Draco glared at him.
"If anyone even thinks that I will be helping Granger in any way,
shape or form, then they are gravely mistaken!"


Snape rolled his eyes.
He knew this would happen.
He had warned Professor McGonagall yesterday, when she had showed him 'the
list'.


True, she too was looking at it rather tentatively...but what could either of
them do when the academic scores were so closely matched together?


Although all of the teachers were seeking house unity, Snape knew that it
was a 'no-go' area...too much history had happened between the houses
already...it was almost not fixable.


"Do you want to fail?" Snape asked simply.


Draco snorted. "I would rather work with Weasley, than work with Granger!"


"Then fail" Snape told him simply, starting to sound uninterested in
Malfoy's rant.


Draco looked over at him.
Draco? Fail?


That word had never entered his vocabulary before.


"How will this effect my NEWTs?" He asked curiously.


Snape smirked. "It counts as 1/5 of your overall NEWT marks. And it will
most definitely go onto your personal CV for the rest of your working
life...apparently 'Life Skills' is all the rage, these days."


"1/5?!" Draco exclaimed, looking distraught.


"It is a life lesson, Mr. Malfoy. If you want to get on in life, you need to
know what it is all about"


Draco slumped down on a desk, covering his face with his hands.


"This is ridiculously unfair, you do realize that don't you?"


Snape got on with marking his work.


He did not need to answer that question...it sounded more like a statement,
anyway.



_______________________



"Are you ok, 'Mione?" Ron asked her sympathetically.


She nodded her head numbly.


She couldn't eat her dinner.
She didn't think she would eat ever again.


She could still feel eyes looking at her.
Everyone seemed to know what had gone on in their lesson this morning.


She could feel Pansy Parkinson's eyes boring into her.
Glaring at her.
Probably wanting her to shrivel up and die.


And she would have gladly done it, if she could have.


"I'm fine...just a little shocked, that's all"


Harry kept peering around him.


"What's up with you?" Ron asked him, before packing his mouth full of mashed
potato.


"Its her..." He told them, his voice almost in a whisper. "Ever since
McGonagall paired us up, she's been popping up in the most extraordinary
places...." Hermione looked at him. "....Like the lad's toilets...."


"What does she say to you?" She asked him curiously, a smile playing on her
lips.


Harry shuddered. "She just keeps asking me if I want to touch her 'baby
bump'!"


Ron laughed heartily.
At least he didn't have that problem.
Parvati was far more relaxed.


Hermione noticed Ron steal a quick glance in Parvati's direction.
Now she felt even worse.
Not only was she paired up with a complete and utter prick, but the boy that
she had feelings for was probably going to grow feelings for someone else
instead!

It was not a good day for Hermione Granger


She didn't think things could get any worse...
Then she felt lead drop into her stomach.


HE had just appeared in the Great Hall.


Hermione glared over at him.


He was looking for someone.


And then his eyes stopped at hers.


Soon, he was marching towards their Gryffindor table, and all eyes seemed to
follow him as he made his way there.


"Granger" He said with a low growl.
He stopped directly in front of her, ignoring the small snickers that echoed
through the Hall.


Hermione's face held defiance.


"A word" He said simply, before stalking off, his robes bellowing out behind
him.


Hermione rolled her eyes.
She knew this would happen sooner or later.


She slowly got up from the table.


Harry grabbed her hand.
"Don't do what he says, Hermione. Don't let him rule this thing already"


Hermione smiled at her best friend.
But it didn't quite reach her eyes.


"If I want the marks, then I have to be the bigger person, Harry"


With sympathetic looks from both Harry and Ron, Hermione began to walk the
path that Malfoy had walked not moments before.


When she walked through the doors of the Great Hall, she saw him standing
there by the staircase.


He turned around and faced her.
His face seemed unreadable, Hermione was unable to see what was going on in
his head.


"When the sprog is born, let me know. We'll take it from there"


Hermione was absolutely fuming.


"It isn't for you to say where 'WE' will be taking anything from!" She told
him in an angry voice, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.


He just stood there, looking as if a bucket of icy water had been thrown at
him.

"Listen, Granger" He told her, his voice low as he approached her slowly. "I
don't like this half as much as you seem to, and if I'm quite honest,
I don't like the idea of you being the host tomy seed that is now
inside your body" His saunter towards her made Hermione take a few steps
back.


"...but in order for me to get by when I leave this god forsaken school...I
need to pass this exam"


He was only a few feet away from her now.


Hermione stood her ground. "What on god's green earth makes you think that I
would LIKE this situation?!" She asked him, her voice hissing in a
low whisper. She knew that if she raised her voice that she would draw
unwanted attention.


Draco shrugged. "All women live to get 'Sprogged Up', Granger...it's a fact
of life"


Hermione glared furiously at him.
Getting 'Sprogged Up' by Malfoy was one thing she had never intended to be
on her list..


No matter if it WAS only 'pretend'....


"Your putting me off children for life right now, Malfoy" She told him
sarcastically.
He was putting her off the idea of even having to look after the one that
had been planted inside of her!


Malfoy smirked.
"Good...at least you won't be spreading your nasty little Muggle germs
around!"


Hermione moved forwards towards him, intent on slapping his face...hard.


Malfoy caught her wrist quickly, chuckling at her as he did so.


"You think I haven't learned my lesson from third year?" He asked her,
looking at the had that had attempted to smack him.


Hermione pulled her wrist back sharply, rubbing it slightly when she felt it
burn from where Malfoy had hold of it.

"I hate you" She told him, holding eye contact with him.


Malfoy's eyes darkened.


"Where there's no love, there's no loss" He told her, his voice at a whisper.


He stepped backwards and turned his back on her.


"Let's just get through this bloody exam, Granger" He said to her, walking
down the steps that lead to the Great Hall. "You don't need to talk to me,
and I don't need to talk to you...for now"


And then he disappeared from her view.


Hermione was seething with anger.


Let's just get through this exam?! She thought angrily, making her
way towards the doors once again. 'Who the bloody hell does he think
he-


Hermione glared.


As she opened the doors to the great Hall, an unholy sight met her eyes.


Half of the population of the school had decided to stand there with their
ears to the doors!


'Is this the best gossip they can get, lately?' she asked herself,
barging through the bodies and making her way back to Ron and Harry.


She slumped down in her seat.


"I take it it went well, then?" Harry asked her with a smile.


She couldn't help the smirk that etched her features.


"It couldn't have gone better"


...Sarcasm was always the lowest form of wit......





______________________________



A/N:
Let me firstly just say how overhelmed I am to the response of this fic!
i am completely over the moon from all the support I am getting!!

I would like to repeat the fact that this is all of my own work, and I have not read a similar story prior to thinking up this one...so i apologise if anyone thinks I may be stealing ideas.
(I am not a thief lol)
However, I have been told of some other stories with a similar plot...but aslong as mine does not stray down a similar road to any of the others, then i am hoping i should be fine lol.

PLEASE keep reviewing, as i love to hear how this fic is being recieved by everyone.
And also, someone pointed out my bad spelling...I don't have a proof-reader at the moment, but i should be gaining one soon and they will do the corrections for me!!
...So you won't have to be subjected to my poor spelling any longer!! :-D


And to answer Buffy XO's querie....

In this chapter, i have to apologise that i did not make Malfoy as angry as i had liked...or Hermione for that matter.
The reason being is because I thought that both characters WOULD be livid...but they both take too much pride in their work.
In other words; they want to succeed.
(But if anyone thinks that it is OCC then i apologise...but I can't be right all the time lmao!)

Also, just to plot point;

The war IS still bubbling but neither harry nor voldemort are going to meet in this fic.
*Dumbledore is alive because i love him. (and as far as i am concerned, book six didnt happen because it would just make things too complicated lol)
*Malfoy's dad wont come into this. He's still in Azkaban lol.
*Neither hermione's, Malfoys or any other family will be brought into it...this is solely within their last school year.

I hope that has cleared up any potential confusion for anyone lol


Sorry about the long assed essay...but I thought i would write this just to avoid any confusion lmao!

THANKYOU AGAIN FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!
And I hope you carry on enjoying this series, as I am really enjoying writing it...its just a silly little story with funny little characters...hehe


Here endeth the lesson :-)